Lightning win semi, Knights battle Petes, Majors open season
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (May 8-15) — for London’s teams and athletes.
The London Majors opened their defense of back-to-back IBL titles Sunday in Toronto, dropping a 5-4 contest against the Maple Leafs. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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The Knights opened up their first OHL Finals series since 2016 with a bang — a 3-0 home win over the Peterborough Petes last Thursday at Budweiser Gardens. After a scoreless first period, Easton Cowan scored the icebreaker and eventual game-winner at the 14:55 mark in the second. Jacob Julien and Ryan Winterton (empty net) both added goals in the third, while Zach Bowen earned a shutout in goal as the Knights took Game 1.
London didn’t fare as well on Saturday, although it took a comeback for the Petes to claim a 5-3 win in Game 2. Down 1-0 after one, Sam Dickinson tied the game for the Knights in the second period. A Petes powerplay goal put them back ahead, but the Knights responded with two goals in less than three minutes — an unassisted marker from Sean McGurn and a powerplay score from Logan Mailloux. Unfortunately for London, the Peterborough offense really came to life in the third, scoring three unanswered goals to even the series at one game apiece.
Looking to go ahead 2-1, the Knights instead found themselves down a game Monday night after losing a close one, 6-5 in overtime, in Game 3 in Peterborough. London got off to a strong start with Sean McGurn scoring the icebreaker just 31 seconds into the game. And Ryan Winterton doubled the lead with a power play goal just over five minutes in. It was a sign of many goals to come.
After scoring a late goal in the first, the Petes tied things early in the second — with the first of a combined six goals between the two teams in the period. Less than two minutes later, Sean McGurn restored London’s lead, but the Petes scored two straight to take a 4-3 lead of their own. Not so fast. The Knights regained their lead once again on goals by Brody Crane and Jackson Edward, and London headed into the second intermission with a 5-4 lead. Peterborough scored the lone goal in the third, just 1:13 in. The teams then went quiet until overtime when Tucker Robertson delivered the game-winner for Peterborough 2:32 into the extra frame.
Up next:
The Knights, now 13-5 in the postseason, trail 2-1 in the OHL Finals series and play Game 4 back in Peterborough Wednesday night. Game 5 is back in London at Budweiser Gardens Friday night.
OHL Playoffs (Championship Final) - London Knights (No. 2 in West) vs. Peterborough Petes (No. 4 in East) (Peterborough leads 2-1)
Game 1: London 3 vs. Peterborough 0
Game 2: London 3 vs. Peterborough 5
Game 3: London 5 @ Peterborough 6 (OT)
Game 4: Wed. May 17 (7:30pm @ Peterborough Petes)
Game 5: Fri. May 19 (7:30pm vs. Peterborough Petes)
Game 6: Sun. May 21 (7:00pm @ Peterborough Petes) (if necessary)
Game 7: Mon. May 22 (7:00pm vs. Peterborough Petes) (if necessary)
A 94-89 win Sunday in Kitchener punched the London Lightning’s ticket to the 2023 NBLC Finals, where they’ll look to defend their title from a year ago.
Up 1-0 on the KW Titans in their best-of-five semi-final series to start the week, the Lightning took a commanding 2-0 lead on Tuesday with an 88-69 at Budweiser Gardens. Ahead by just two points at halftime, the Lightning pulled ahead in the third, outscoring the Titans 27-15 in the quarter to take a 12-point lead into the fourth. Playing without Jermaine Haley Jr., London was led by Marcus Ottey (23 points, 7 rebounds) and Terry Thomas, (19 pts, 13 rebs, 6 asts), who combined to score 42 points in the contest. with Jeremiah Mordi grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.
With a chance to close out the series on Friday, the Lightning fell just short, losing 95-90 at the Kitchener Auditorium. The Titans outscored London 29-20 in the 2nd quarter to take a 48-40 lead into halftime. The Lightning were a step behind throughout the contest, and although they managed to claw their way to within five with under a minute left, it was too little too late. Terry Thomas had 25 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort, while Jermaine Haley Jr. scored 21 points with 7 rebounds, and Mike Nuga had 17 points and 8 rebounds.
Back in Kitchener for Game 4 Sunday, the Lightning sealed the deal by beating the Titans 94-89. With London up by 7 at halftime, Kitchener fought back and managed to tie the score twice — but they never took the lead in the second half. Jeremiah Mordi earned Player of the Game honours with a fantastic all-around performance — 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Mike Nuga scored a personal season-high 25 points to go with 8 rebounds, while Jermaine Haley Jr. and Diego Kapelan scored 13 points apiece. Kur Jongkuch had 8 rebounds and 9 points.
Up next:
The Lightning now take on the Windsor Express in the 2023 NBLC Finals. Windsor won their deciding Game 5 Sunday over the Sudbury Five. Game 1 goes Thursday at Budweiser Gardens, with Game 2 happening Saturday.
NBLC Playoffs (Finals) - London Lightning (1) vs. Windsor Express (3) (best-of-five series)
Game 1: Thurs. May 18 (7:00pm vs. Windsor Express)
Game 2: Sat. May 20 (7:00pm vs. Windsor Express)
Game 3: Tues. May 23 (7:00pm @ Windsor Express)
Game 4: Thurs. May 25 (7:00pm @ Windsor Express) (if necessary)
Game 5: Fri. May 26 (7:00pm vs. Windsor Express) (if necessary)
The Majors opened their 2023 season on Sunday, losing 5-4 on the road to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Majors ahead 4-0 in the eighth inning, the Leafs staged a comeback, scoring five times in the home half of the inning to steal the win.
Owen Boon, London’s starter, had a strong day on the mound, tossing five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. He allowed just two hits and a pair of walks. Pedro De Los Santos allowed three runs (two earned) in 2.2 innings in relief, while Braeden Ferrington, who was pinned with the loss, allowed a pair of unearned runs on three hits.
None of the Majors’ four runs were produced by hits, as two came by wild pitch, one on a bases loaded walk, and another on a Cleveland Brownlee sacrifice fly. Austin Wilkie went 2-for-3 and reached base four times in the loss, while Dan Battel was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Brett Graham, Drew Lawrence and Eduardo de Oleo tallied London’s other hits.
Up next:
The Majors’ home opener is set for Saturday (May 20) at Labatt Park. They’ll host this same Toronto Maple Leafs squad — the franchise they beat in the IBL Finals in both 2021 and 2022. Then they’re off to Hamilton on Sunday.
Sat. May 20 (1:05pm vs. Toronto Maple Leafs)
Sun. May 21 (2:05pm @ Hamilton Cardinals)
The Men’s team continues to search for its first win of the season, but they did earn their first draw Saturday. Playing Simcoe County Rovers FC under the lights at Tricar Field, FC London earned a 1-1 draw after going down 1-0 in the first half. Nick Ferreira scored the equalizer in the 90th minute to earn FC London their first point of the season.
The Women’s team had an unusual weekend, with their home opener at Tricar Field abandoned by the officials and the second half left unplayed. The specific circumstances remain unknown. When contacted by Gameday London, League1 Ontario made the following comment: ‘The league office continues to investigate the circumstances that led to the abandonment of the L1O Women's Premier Division match between FC London and Electric City FC on Saturday afternoon. No further public comments will be made until the investigation is complete and a decision is rendered on the outcome of this match. Thank you for your patience.’
On its website Tuesday, the league said that ‘a formal statement will be forthcoming after the league office has received reports from the match officials, the teams and the league's onsite staff.’
Up next:
The men will head back on the road this week, while the women have the week off, resuming their schedule next Wednesday …
Men: Sat. May 20 (7:00pm @ Hamilton United)
Women: Wed. May 24 (8:00pm @ Darby FC)
Knight Watch: London back in familiar territory; Sam Dickinson OHL Player of the Week; Efficiency from goal-scoring Van Gorp; Powerplay clicking once again; Knights get Soo showdown Friday …